I only recommend products I believe in. When you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission—but don’t worry, it won’t cost you a penny extra.
The Game Beat Saber
The other day, I was enthusiastically telling a client about the wonders of the Oculus (They are dropping the Oculus name for the name Meta Quest 2) and, in particular, the game Beat Saber.
You see, it played a truly revolutionary role in my recovery after I had a stroke, specifically in helping me regain my ability to drive. Honestly, I am baffled why doctors aren’t recommending such engaging tools more often for rehabilitation. My client simply said, “Doctors just don’t know.” . Well, if they don’t know, then it’s my duty to share my story!
So, let me tell you how a virtual reality game, Beat Saber, became an unexpected key in my journey back to driving.
“You Gotta Try This!”
It was Christmas 2021, and my daughter’s heart was set on one thing: an Meta Quest 2. That headset and its two hand controllers became her prized possession. The first thing she did? Download a game called Beat Saber.
Now, the Meta Quest 2 calls Beat Saber a game, and while its certainly fun, it became so much more for me. It comes with a selection of pretty catchy pre-loaded songs, and you can easily download more song packs right within the headset . I found them quite reasonably priced. Being a lifelong music lover, I was intrigued watching my daughter energetically swipe her arms through the air, wielding those controllers in time with music from Led Zeppelin, Fallout Boy, Imagine Dragons, and more. “Oh yeah, you gotta try this thing Mom!” she insisted. And I did. Little did I know the sheer joy this virtual world was about to unleash in my life!
A Peek Into The Game
I have the Meta Quest VR Headset. This links to the latest model out there on Amazon. in which I downloaded several song packs for Beat Saber.
Here’s a little peek into how it works:
First things first, stretch! Seriously, whether you’re young or just young at heart, a little stretching beforehand can save you from some unexpected soreness.
Next, you slip on the virtual headset, adjusting the straps for a comfortable fit. Grab the right controller for your right hand and the left controller for your left.
In the virtual menu that pops up, select Beat Saber. Once it opens, you’ll see different play options. I always gravitate towards “Solo Play” on the far left.
Within Solo Play, a billboard of songs appears – the ones that came with the game and any you’ve downloaded. Pick a tune that moves you!
Now, choose your difficulty level: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, Expert+. Then, hit, “Play.”
Look down, and the game will show you footprints indicating the ideal stance. Plant your feet there, then look up. Here come the boxes!
As the colorful cubes approach, you’ll notice an arrow on each one. Your mission‹? To slice the box in the direction of the arrow using your virtual sabers. Boxes meant for your left hand are one distinct color, while those for your right are another. Keep an eye out for boxes with a zero (o) on them- you can slice those any way you like!
The headset is ingeniously designed to make it feel like the music is right there with you. There’s no need for headphones! It’s truly immersive. You’ll quickly find a rhythm between the music and the incoming boxes. Just be ready to dodge and duck any spike balls, large blank blocks, or snaking chains of smaller balls that come your way!
Don’t be discouraged if you lose a few times at first. If you miss too many boxes, the song ends, and you have to start over. but trust me, you’ll pick up the rhythm surprisingly fast. By your fourth or fifth try, you should be able to complete a whole song.
Once the song ends, a rating screen appears, showing how accurately you sliced the boxes. You can either quit or dive right back in. And if you perform exceptionally well, you might even be treated to a fireworks display at the end, indicating a new high score on your personal Meta Quest 2!
That first day I played Beat Saber, I think I went through about ten songs! The music pulsed through me, the rhythmic slicing was exhilarating, and those fireworks at the end (it was a new game, so every completed song felt like a victory!) had me completely hooked. The next day, though? I was sore! Lesson learned: don’t skip the stretching. I had to take a day or two off to recover. That’s the bonus of playing Beat Saber, it’s exercise! A real work-out! (For a super cardio workout download the “Rock! Mix” music pack and Beat Saber to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird. 8 Minutes of cardio!)
My daughter, of course, would effortlessly beat my score and trigger her own dazzling fireworks. That just fueled my competitive spirit, and I’d jump back in to try and reclaim my virtual glory. I hadn’t had so much fun with an electronic game in decades!
Then Came The Stoke
Fast forward to July 2022/ Beat Saber was still a regular part of my life. I had progressed to expert level, just one step below the highest difficulty. I could play for an hour or more without any next-day aches. Then, a series of stressful events hit: my business was robbed, I had to replace a car axle in sweltering heat, and a couple of other things piled on, culminating in a stroke.
One of the effects of the stroke was a loss of part of my vision. Imagine a clock face, I could no longer see anything in the 3-5 o’clock area of my visual field.
A few weeks after I was released from the hospital, I attempted to drive with my daughter in the passenger seat. We were in a quiet, almost deserted area where I could try driving with no one around. It didn’t go well. I kept drifting off the right side of the road. I simply couldn’t see it. The edge of the road was right there in my 3 to 5 o’clock blind spot. I’d be driving along slowly, and then I’d hear a bumping noise and feel a vibration in the steering wheel. “What the heck is that?” I’d asked aloud. My daughter patiently replied, “Well, you’re driving off the side of the road again.” I found the situation both hysterically funny and deeply upsetting. My business relied on my ability to drive. I couldn’t drive like that, my amazing daughter stepped in and began driving me to my routine jobs everyday. She dedicated everyday to driving me. I knew she couldn’t do that forever, I am so thankful for her help. I had to come up with a solution or lose my business, but what could I do?
I Can’t See It!
I was devastated about the driving situation. I felt like everything I worked so hard for was collapsing because of this stroke I had. I couldn’t wait to get home and put on the Meta Quest 2 headset, and escape into the sounds of the world of Beat Saber, but that was just another blow to my world, I kept losing!! The songs would barely start, and womp, womp, womp, game over. Utterly dismayed, I ripped off the headset and exclaimed, “What the heck? I keep losing” My daughter gently pointed to her head, indicating the area affected by my stroke. It hit me then – I couldn’t play just like I couldn’t drive. The boxes whizzing through my 3 to 5 o’clock blind spot were simply invisible to me, so I wasn’t hitting them. “This can’t be!” I thought. “I love Beat Saber, I cant stop playing it now!” I put the headset back on, reset my level to Easy, and tried again and again to get through a single song. The next day, I tried again, determined to conquer at least one of my favorite tracks. It must have been the third or fourth day when I finally manged to hit all the boxes and complete a song on the easy level. I was ecstatic!
What You May See vs What I See
I Can Drive!
I kept playing Beat Saber, day after day, and slowly but surely, I got better at hitting all the boxes. Three months into this unexpected therapy, I was able to increase my level to medium. Then, by six months, I was back to expert, the level I was at before the stroke. Without me even consciously realizing it, Beat Saber was retraining my brain to anticipate where the boxes would be, despite the fact that I still couldn’t see in that 3 to 5 o’clock area!
Eventually, I got behind the wheel again, with my daughter as my co-pilot, and we ventured back to that deserted road. And I could drive! Tears well up in my eyes just writing this down. I didn’t drift off the road even once. My brain had learned to “see” around the blind spot to the point where I didn’t even notice I had one! To this day, I’ve never had an accident, not even a close call. I have had deer, squirrels, and turkeys darting into the road, and I have no problem seeing and avoiding them.
Virtual Reality For Rehab
Today, if you ask me about my blind spot, it almost surprises me because I often forget it’s there. I can find it if I consciously look for it, but otherwise, my brain has simply accepted that area sees nothing and has rerouted itself to compensate. I owe so much of this to Beat Saber, I honestly believe I wouldn’t be driving right now if it hadn’t been for that game. It allowed me to retrain my brain in a way I never thought possible/
This brings me back to my conversation with my client. Why aren’t people in my situation being prescribed games like Beat Saber or other similar visual activities to help improve or overcome brain damage? An MRI clearly shows a dark spot where my brain no longer functions in the visual area, yet I would never know it unless someone asked me to specifically look for the blind spot. I truly believe that embracing alternative enjoyable methods ts key to recover from many illnesses. Perhaps it’s time we started looking beyond traditional therapies and explored the incredible potential of engaging in tools like virtual reality games.
© 2025 Joanna